Hot on the heels of Toro Rosso’s confirmation of its Honda engine deal for 2018, the remaining pieces of the multi-part puzzle fell into place as expected, with the Italian team’s Renault powerplants heading for McLaren and its star turn behind the wheel, Carlos Sainz, jumping over to the regie to partner Nico Hulkenberg next year. McLaren had been expected to kickstart the announcement avalanche but, in a mirror of its season as a whole, found itself trailing Toro Rosso in the news stakes. However, the PR offensive – when...